4x4 Newbie Question

I have an '04 TRD, the sport version wasn't around then. I have the locker but the sticker that normally goes on the driver's side door was taken off

Yeah you don't really want to do that lol. Sounds like you're okay though. If it was doing anything your truck didn't like you would've heard some less than pleasant sounds. And you have the right idea, you do want to use it every month for at least a few miles to keep things lubed up and working properly, but try to find a fire road or trail around you that you can drive on to use 4wd

 

No worries dude, I got my '04 back in March and it was my first 4x4. I was scouring these forums for information on how to properly use it and the amount of info out there is overwhelming. The best thing to do is to just go out on a trail or fire road and try it out. I go wheeling just about every weekend and using 4hi/4lo has become second nature, but the first time I was pretty nervous I was going to screw something up lol.

Yes, you can only use your locker in 4lo...it won't activate otherwise. Even if you try to turn it on in 4hi you won't break anything because it won't engage, it'll just blink at you.

Also keep in mind that the locker rarely ever engages right away when you turn it on, the gears have to be lined up properly so it usually takes a few feet of driving for it to engage or disengage. It generally makes an audible "clack" sound.

Just remember that to use 4lo you need to be at a complete stop and in neutral, 4hi you can turn on if you're driving but be sure you're going straight and not above 55 (maybe 65?) miles per hour. Generally speaking, if you need to use 4x4 you're probably not going to be going that fast anyway. And avoid doing it on paved roads, it's especially important in 4lo that you're on lose dirt/sand/gravel etc.

 

Thanks a lot for the details. I had a feeling I shouldn't try to engage any 4x4 on pavement, glad I didn't. Gonna try to go out to Land between the lakes here in TN this weekend.
I gotta also learn craw control. I know you have to be in 4lo to engage crawl control and the MLS. Is it recommended to lock the rear diff for crawl control ?

 

No problem, happy to help. Unfortunately I can't speak about crawl control though because my truck was made long before that was ever an option lol. I'm sure someone else will chime in though.

 

For automatics, When we're in 4lo and want to shift back into 4hi or 2wd, do we have to put the tranny in neutral first? Like we have to when going into 4lo.

 

Yep

 

You can engage it on dry pavement as long as you are going straight (but why would you need to anyway?). It's the turning that causes the problem. Normally the wheels turn at different speeds when turning and in 4wd they turn at the same speed so it starts to bind up the driveline. You can definitely feel what's going on, makes it harder to turn.

From 4lo to 4hi, yes neutral. 4hi to 2wd it doesn't matter.

Just be sure if you're shifting on the fly to let off the gas and coast while it engages.

 

Don't lock the rear diff in crawl control. It operates each wheel independently with braking to control wheel spin. If you lock both wheels together it won't work.

Yes.


Edit: Some others beat me to it, but I'll leave this post up anyway.

 

So is it ok to turn the wheel from lock to lock when in 4HI/LO while off -roading? I've seen some videos where guys are "stuck" but proceed to give it gas and turn the wheel from lock to lock trying to get unstuck. Is that a no-no?

 

You can turn the wheel as much as you like in 4lo so long you are on a loose surface. The problem with doing it on dry pavement is that they are geared differently up front and if they can't spin it creates binding that can break the components. So long as you're on a loose surface like dirt, sand, or gravel the wheels can spin if they need to and no binding will occur.

I turn tightly in 4lo while off-roading all the time, a lot of the steep trails out here have tight switchbacks. Never had an issue with it

 

Thanks man. So I have another question. I took mine "off-road" yesterday and was in 4HI the whole time. I never reached a speed over 10MPH, should I have been in 4LO. The terrain was muddy/grass/dirt with a few slight inclines and some ruts from time to time. Nothing crazy at all. Also, while in 4HI can I turn the wheel from lock to lock while on loose terrain? Thanks.

 

You can do that. That's a strategy that people use to kind of "hunt" for traction to see if a tire will grab somewhere. You still want to try and keep sharp turns to a minimum and avoid going full lock going up or down stuff because that's how things get broken.

Good example here at about 3:50. You can see how his tire accidentally catches that rock and goes full lock with all that weight of the truck on the front. Nothing got broke or bent luckily. But that's also a GREAT example of why when you Offroad to keep your thumbs OUT of the steering wheel. You see how fast that wheel turned? I've seen people break thumbs when a rock catches a tire and spins the steering wheel.

https://youtu.be/21WnPDOKxx8P

 

4hi will be what most people use most of the time. When you're off-roading, 4lo is for when you need that low gearing to keep you moving at a slow pace, for safety mostly.

4lo is good for crawling/climbing where you can't rely on momentum to get through an obstacle, and it is especially useful if you're going down a very steep, rocky descent. In 4hi or 2wd you would be relying on your brakes and that could be dangerous, even in first gear in 2wd or 4hi the gearing is too high and you'll need to ride your brakes. If you put it in 4lo, the super low gearing will keep you from exceeding 2 or 3 mph and you don't need to burn out your brakes. That's when I find 4lo the most useful.

 

Thanks. Ill have to watch this at home. Big brother wont let me see youtube videos.

 

Awesome info man. Thanks to all, really learning a lot in here. I plan to go to a local off-road park this weekend and bring our son (5yr) along with me. Figure I'll stick to the easy stuff. I'm not sure who is more excited, me or our son...lol.

 

No one could blame you if you wanted to try the fan and engaged 4wd by mistake, it's happened to me too. Report back please and don't by that truck.

I use 4Lo when I need to go slower than I can in 4Hi. Do not slip the clutch to get past an obstacle, use 4Lo.

My 4wd engages and disengages without problems because I exercise it weekly. There is nothing but pavement here, I engage and disengage 4wd while traveling in a straight line and don't corner.

I have rebuilt other 4wd transfer cases so I know what's going on inside, 4wd in a straight line on pavement won't hurt anything. Turning is what causes a problem.

When Audi made the first 4wd rally cars they put a lockable differential between the front and rear axles. They found they always ran with it locked (same as a 4wd truck) so they deleted the center differential the next year. They had an unlimited budget to rebuild/replace things however, I'm sure it caused more wear running locked.

My F250, which had the same 4wd configuration as our Tacomas, said "do not corner in 4wd on dry hard surface roads" on the visor card.

 

I much preferred my old transfer case shift lever.

 

So went out and did some wheeling yesterday, my first time. A buddy of mine got his truck stuck in some mud. Driver side was buried and the passenger side was the only way to exit the vehicle. This got me to thinking and as the guys I were with are novice as myself, here's my questions.

If I'm the recovery vehicle should I be in 4HI, 4LO or 2wd? If I was the vehicle stuck should I be in 4HI or 4LO? Also, what is the "roll angle" of the Tacoma? In other words, if I'm going down the trail and I come to a spot where either my driver side or passenger side is at an angle, what is safe? Is there an aftermarket "level" that can be placed in the vehicle somewhere to show what angle your at? Thanks.

 

Your Tacoma has a built in feature that tells you what your pitch and roll angles are. It is on the menu on the instrument cluster, scroll right a few times and you'll see it. The roll angle measurement tops out at 30 degrees. I take that as the "oh shit" angle (for a stock setup). Now, there are a couple other factors that can lead to you rolling (for example, sliding down sideways at an angle and then coming to an abrupt stop will flip it), but for controlled maneuvering, I would absolutely keep it below 30 degrees at all times (I haven't been anywhere near that yet though and have still clenched a couple times).

It IS possible that the taco can make it beyond 30 degrees, however, I have yet to find a source that says at what roll angle the side airbags deploy. I can only assume it isn't much past 30. You don't want to be in a critical position and have the airbag blast the side of your head....

 

another noob question here concerning 4-Lo and the manual transmission -- in applications where one would use 4-lo (say, a really crappy unmaintained, rocky fire trail), would one ever be in anything other than first gear?